Charity the winner as happy Trailwalkers survive challenge

Cheers and applause filled the Perowne Barracks in Tuen Mun yesterday, as competitors from 963 teams in the 27th Oxfam Trailwalker crossed the finish line one by one.

Trailwalkers ripped off their running shoes after completing the 100km MacLehose Trail and many collapsed to the ground, exhausted but happy that they had met the challenge.

The first team to cross the finish line on Friday was the four-man Gurkha G4S team, which finished in 11 hours and 52 minutes, breaking the record by five minutes.

Yesterday, Patrick Chan Sai-hung, 42, who completed his seventh Trailwalker, said conditions were worse this year than last, with a 12 degree Celsius difference between day and night temperatures and poor visibility - down to 2 metres at times during the night. But he said his greatest challenge was to overcome his sleepiness as he and his teammates plugged away throughout the night.

'When we reached the [radio] antenna at Tai Mo Shan at about 6am, I was so exhausted that I thought I was hallucinating when I saw a white figure 3 metres in front of me,' Mr Chan said, adding that he waved at the figure but received no response.

He later found out that the figure was a support-team member. 'I don't recommend that participants dress in plain white outfits,' he joked. 'It's a bit scary, especially on a misty night.' Mr Chan said he was aiming to raise HK$1 million over 10 years to help the needy. His team has raised more than HK$30,000 this year.